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Saturday, October 08, 2011

Camera Review: Sony FS100 | Chris Adams | Blog
Chris has used the Sony NEX-FS100 for a couple of shoots and so far he's happy with it - particularly happy with the small size - but he has complaints too:

First off, the camera just feels fragile and plasticky. The buttons are very awkward, especially when its on a shoulder mount. One record button is on the top and one is under the lens on the right side of camera, this makes for some fun fumbling around when you’re trying to get that quick shot. The LCD is nice in that it swivels, but again, on a shoulder mount it is essentially useless because it is on top of the camera. Also if you are doing any kind of high angle shot, you better get a ladder to see the LCD.

The Sony FS100 and Large Sensor Acquisition | Shawn Lam | Blog
A short comparison of the image qualities of the NEX-FS100 and the HXR-NX5U. The HXR-NX5U is a three chip, 1/3" sensor camera, and it was released a year and a half before the NEX-FS100. The HXR-NX5U's strength is that it's an all-in-one camera, that's easy to operate and is good for run-in-gun situations. Most people who are looking at one of these cameras, probably aren't comparing it to the other (i.e. if you're thinking of buying an NEX-FS100 then you're probably comparing it to the Panasonic AG-AF100, not the HXR-NX5U) but it's still interesting to see the differences between these two Sony cameras.

This side by side comparison is between the 1/3″ Sony HEX-NX5U and the Super 35mm Sony NEX-FS100. Because they have different internal codecs I captured the uncompressed HDMI output from each of the cameras and recorded them on an ATOMOS Ninja using the 145 Mbps ProRes 422 codec. Notice how flat the NX5U image is. The FS100 isn’t 3D but is as close to 3D as you can get on a 2 dimensional medium. The NX5U image is also very noisy. Just make sure to click on the image to open a 1920×1080 image (and then you might need to click a second time on that image to view it at 100%)

The same assessment procedure was used as for other HD cameras, partly attempting to get a good “filmlook”, and the settings reflect that. In the search for a “film-look” setting it is normal to think of the camera to be mimicking a film camera and telecine, with “best light” transfer to tape, with about 11 stops of tonal range. Assuming that a grading operation will be used in post-production, the settings attempt to give the colourist the same range of options as with film.

Sony NEX5N Fix Not Fixing Anything?
Sony has offered a "repair" fir the clicking noise in the NEX-5N, but at least one person didn't have much success when he returned his to Sony:

I sent in my @Sony NEX 5n for "clicking" repairs. It was returned unfixed and scratched up @EOSHD @goforjared @PhilipBloom #SonyNex5N #FAIL
- @iFilmFlops

A Tough Week for Film | Scott Simmons | Studio Daily
ARRI, Panavision and Anton have ceased film camera manufacture, FilmCraft, a film processing lab in Detroit closes, and Kodak is in serious financial difficulties. Things don't look good for film.

Episode #6 (06Oct11) Patrick Inhofer - Tao of Color | High Desert Shorts
An audio interview with professional Color Grader Patrick Inhofer about his online business the Tao of Color. Covers multiple areas including equipment, philosophy, pricing, and starting out in the business.

A short Q and A with Automatic Duck about their Adobe move | Scott Simmons | The Editblog
Scott interviews Wes Plate of Automatic Duck about what the new relationship with Adobe means. Reading between the lines - and given Wes is now a full-time employee of Adobe - it seems that although the Automatic Duck website will continue to sell existing product, it doesn't sound like there will be much else.

As cameras in smartphones like the new Apple iPhone 4S get better, and memory gets cheaper, there will be more video on the fly. Within the corporate world, Cisco and competitors like Polycom and Microsoft are benefiting from the growth of so-called telepresence meetings over the Web where people meet virtually through individual cameras on their desks. The “hangout” feature on Google’s Google+ social networking software is the latest version of this, and Google is working on ways to tie those video sessions to its calendar, spreadsheet and document sharing office productivity products.

However, this international attention is not part of the social media strategy and online distribution rights. When you live outside the US and you are excited by the Facebook post below which invites you to ‘revisit another amazing Voice performance…Javier Colon and Adam Levine team up to perform Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror!” You end up on the NBC website of The Voice telling you that the clip you selected isn’t available from your location and asks users to ‘select another clip’.

Adobe’s Al Mooney Hurlblog Interview Part II | Hurlblog
Part II of an interview with Premiere Pro Product manager, Al Mooney, that details the process of creating a piece of Adobe software. Mooney also discusses his inspiration and source of passion for this line of work.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

The Great Camera Shootout 2011: Part 3 | Zacuto
The third and final part of this web series, evaluating a variety of large-sensor cameras, was posted yesterday. This episode is mostly technical test looking at motion artifacts and color reproduction.

A variety of cameras were tested, but as with nearly all these efforts, by the time it's all put together there's always something that just came out and didn't make it it (for example, the S-Log for Sony's PMW-F3 wasn't out, and neither was the RED Epic.) Even so, the gap between film and digital is so small now, it's still there, but it's small.

They also tease the "Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout," a new series that will include newer cameras, and a slightly different slant on comparing cameras.

Sony’s A77 for video? – So close yet so far | Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter
Dan got to spend some time with this new DSLR from Sony, and discovered several problems and limitations, including lack of manual audio control, and:

The problem I immediately found was that in order to use the AF system you had to set the camera’s video mode to Program exposure Manual exposure is simply not possible in combination with AF it seems. For me that is a deal breaker, I need to control my shutter speed and aperture in video.

Alex Ezorsky-Lie and a fellow filmmaker are hoping to create a film/video/art studio in the Boston area. The plan is to lease a large (3,000-5,000 sq/ft) space in Somerville/Cambridge MA that would have offcies for permanent tenants, as well as a large (900 sq/ft+) studio.

I spoke briefly with Alex about the project at the latest Boston Media Makers meeting:

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

JVC announced a digital still camera / video camera hybrid, the JVC GC-PX10, that shoots 12 megapixel stills and HD 1920 x 1080/60p video. It is capable of capturing 60 still images per second, 300 frames-per-second video recording for super-slow motion and the ability to capture still images from video.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Singular Software has announced that it will be updating its audio and video synchronization tools to support Apple Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.1.

"With the 10.0.1 release, we now have the necessary infrastructure for our applications to integrate with Final Cut Pro X. We look forward to offering our customers this compatibility soon," says Bruce Sharpe, CEO of Singular Software

Existing Singular Software Presto and PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro customers will receive a free update when support for Final Cut Pro X becomes available. Customers will be notified of the Final Cut Pro X support update availability via the Singular Software Newsletter.

In addition, the support for the newly announced LA-EA2 SLT alpha mount adapter makes it possible to expand your range of lenses beyond the somewhat limited E-mount offerings at the moment, while gaining the added benefit of quicker phase detect AF. The adapter coupled with the NEX-5N's full manual video exposure control makes this camera very attractive for videography.

More Rumors About Canon Super 35 Video Camera | Jared Abrams
| Wide Open Camera
Another rumor about the upcoming Canon video camera expected to be announced on November 4th. Seems Canon is also going to make some PL mount lenses for it (though personally, I have to admit a bit of surprise at that news).

Tiffen Indie ND Kit: First Impressions | Brandon Vincent | Blog
One of the biggest complaints about the Sony NEX-FS100 is the lack of internal ND filters, requiring that you use some sort of external filter to be able to shoot wide open in bright light. Brandon tried out the 77mm Tiffen ND Kit [$258.50], and despite a few complaints, likes it:

I was able to shoot almost wide open in both situations, one at mid-day around 12:30pm, and one just before sunset around 5:00pm. Achieving f/2.8 was easy – I would start with the highest ND I had (1.2) and add on from there to get where I needed to be. If I needed something less than 1.2, I could just use a single .9 or .6 but it was too bright for that.

Yaffe warns, though, that Kickstarter isn’t necessarily the savior of the independent creator. “It’ll always be there as a solid tool to getting your full budget, but it’s not something you can rely on entirely.” he said. “More people are considering [Kickstarter] as an option, which is good, but the impact is a little less. We raised more money for Girl Crazy than Remember When, but it took more effort,” Yaffe said.

I performed the standard three part Cine-Mod which includes an 80mm front ring (77mm filter thread), 32-pich (0.8 module) seamless focus gear, and of course the de-clicked, dampened aperture ring. In addition to the standard Cine-Mod, I also added one of our semi-permanent Canon Eos mounts.

Handycam HDR-CX160 | Jeremy Stamas | CamcorderInfo
Seems that the Sony HDR-CX160 [$499] has a bunch of new features compared to the HDR-CX150, but doesn't really improve upon the performance of it's predecessor.

While we do like the improvements Sony made to the CX160, the camcorder is not the best model in its class. The Canon HF R21 held a slight edge in terms of performance, although there were areas where the CX160 was the better model (battery life and image stabilization, for example).

The onus once again falls on filmmakers to make the most of their public appearances. They need to put out postcards, have their posters prominently displayed in key areas, dance around in front of the theater in a costume promoting your screening if they have to, and build local relationships in the regions their films are screening. This might extend your stay in a particular town by a day or three while you prepare for your film to screen, but the results can far exceed the cost.

Monday, October 03, 2011

I've spent a little bit of time with the Sony NEX-5N [$699.99 with 18-55mm lens], and this is what struck me about it so far:

It's small! It's not tiny, and I knew it was small, but still, I was surprised how thin the body is!

The size does make me worry about attaching a large lens to it; especially if I want to put it on a tripod. I might have to get a lens/tripod ring...though I see they can be expensive!: Canon Tripod Mount Ring D for IS 100mm F2.8 Macro Lens. Anyone got a source for cheaper third-party lens tripod mounts?

People have been talking about the build quality of the NEX-7 [$1,199.99 body only]; it's supposed to be pretty impressive. But I'm quite impressed by the quality of the NEX-5N, especially when you compare it to some consumer camcorders that cost twice the price (i.e. the Canon HF-G10 is very plasticky and cheap by comparison.)

Speaking of camcorders, having been spending so much time with them recently, I sort of forgot that the NEX-5N is a still camera. And I was almost surprised by the fact that it comes with a separate charger and you have to take the battery out of the camera to charge it. Most consumer camcorders come with a charger that charges the battery in the camera. Odd how that works.

The screen is really good. One of the things I noticed when playing with it is that it seemed to be much easier for me to tell whether something was in focus by looking at the screen; or at least I have that impression. I'll have to see how it works in actual operation, but it certainly was better than using the LCD screen on the back of the Canon 7D.

Lens: I'm learning to like the 18-55mm lens it came with. It seems smoother to zoom than the only other E-mount lens I've spent any time with; the 18-200mm.

Focus Peaking! It's almost a shock to find that this consumer still camera has both color peaking, and doubles the image while you are focusing. Those features have only recently been showing up in consumer camcorders. I really like this.

Menus and things. The menu system has been derided by some as being consumerish. I have no real opinion at the moment; it just seems like something new to learn. What did surprise me was the fifty or more icons that decorate the LCD screen while the camera is in operation! I wonder how many users of the camera will know what half those icons mean!

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Michael Aranda edited together footage from NASA of the last launch of the Atlantis. Some great angles I've never seen, though what's with the shots of the Shuttle flying across the screen? Not sure about that!